Much Ado about Everything  Chapter 1
by SillyLittleRaindrops
Summary: set in England, this tale told from the point of view of Akahana brings new characters to the Sohma story. a tale of love and teenage woes :
1. Chapter 1

Much Ado About Everything

A Fruit's Basket Fanfic by

Amy McAteer

Chapter One

The weak spring sun shone brightly through the school library window, warming my back, and the table before me. The book I held in my hands seemed to shine a little brighter, as if compelling me not to finish it and put it back on the shelf.

I sighed. How many books had I read on the topic this year? Too many, I thought. Again I sighed. But the Native Americans were so interesting, my mind argued.

Hi, by the way. I'm Akahana, a Japanese-English student at St. Pamela's School for Young Ladies. It's a nice place, I guess. England's pretty cool, but to be honest, I preferred Tokyo. Gloucestershire countryside is a bit too quiet for my taste.

Pushing my long black hair from my shoulders, I closed my book and stretched languidly. The only other people in here, aside the librarian dozing in the corner, were a group of giggly first years, laughing over a mobile phone.

I love this room. St. Pamela's is a huge crumbling mansion way out in the sticks. There's around two thousand pupils here, and countless teachers. I'm not the only Japanese girl here, though. There's a girl named Tohru Honda, and my friend Oki. My other best friend Sato is half Japanese, like me, but the other half is Thai.

My friends don't get why I like the library. I guess I always have liked the company of a shelve of books and the silence to read them in.

The door flew open suddenly, disturbing the silence of the library. I jumped, my book flying out of my hands onto the floor. The first years squealed and looked around frantically, as if fearing Godzilla himself had broken our space.

It wasn't exactly Godzilla, but who it turned out to be was so out of place that she may well have been the lizard thing.

It was a girl. Okay, so your thinking "yes Akahana, you do go to a _girl's school_", but that's not why it was such a shock to see this one. For one thing, I think that perhaps I am the only person that ever comes here regularly, and for fun. But this girl's _appearance_ was such a shock that I just sat and stared with my mouth hanging open like a fool.

She was tall, probably taller than me, and it was obvious that she wanted to emphasize her long legs. She wasn't in the standard uniform of a blue blazer, knee length skirt, white knee-high socks or black shoes, oh no. She wore a little black skirt that was definitely not to her knee (unless she bent her legs halfway up her thigh, which I _highly_ doubted), and a black jumper with the words "Your Point Would Be…?". She also wore black ribbed tights, and purple Doc Martens.

She had an angular face, with a pointed chin and determined dark eyes. She was pale, and her lips were full and seductive. But her hair was what caught everyone's eye.

Before I go on, allow me to point out that St. P's is a very old-fashioned school. We have a rose garden, we have stables, we have a lacrosse team. We learn Latin, and our French teachers expect to be called Madame and Mademoiselle. So of course our hair has to be a normal colour! Blonde highlights are even looked down upon!

So imagine my surprise when I saw her hair! My eyes said "uh, yeah, that can't be right….. can it?" and my brain said "afraid so. It's purple". Yeah. _Purple._ It was a beautiful shade, mind you. It was a really deep plum colour. In fact, this was a beautiful girl. When you got over the shock of her appearance, she was altogether quite stunning. Her hair was straight, and she wore a headband at her hairline, a little like a ninja would.

She must have noticed my staring, because she frowned slightly, and made her way to where I sat. _Shit! _I thought. She's gonna freaking _kill_ me! The girl came to a halt in front of me.

"Can I help you?" she asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow. She had an American accent, I noted.

"Um. N-no", I stuttered, feeling like an idiot. "I just…. Um…. I just haven't seen you around before, is all…" I finished lamely, ducking my head in embarrassment, feeling my face grow red. I looked up to see that her face had softened a bit.

"Oh. Okay, then" she said, and finally she smiled. Pulling up the chair opposite mine, she sat down, tossing back her purple locks. "I'm new here. My name's Cho"

"Akahana", I said, offering my hand. She took it, and I could feel a tiny grin playing across my lips. "When did you start?"

"Yesterday", Cho grinned. "I came from the Kohona Village in Japan. I went to the Naruto Academy". She said it like it wasn't a big deal, but my word it was! I didn't think that was a real place, but I had heard of people going to it from Tokyo.

"Wow!" I exclaimed excitedly. "That's incredible! Why did you leave?"

That's when she stopped smiling.

"Oh", she said, suddenly looking out the window behind me, at the shelf of books to her left, anywhere but me. "I, uh, walked out. It wasn't an _expulsion,_ it was a case of differences. I didn't agree with a number of things the instructors taught me, and one day they just went too far for my taste, so I left".

"Oh", I said. "Well, you still went to Naruto Academy! Did you have a boyfriend? A best friend? Who were they?" I was getting ahead of myself, and I knew it. Cho laughed.

"Well my best friend was called Isamu", she started. "and my boyfriend was Kiba". She smiled as she said Kiba's name. "He's totally gorgeous. We're still dating. Well, actually, I didn't call him my boyfriend till I left. We used to be friends with 'benefits' if you get my drift" she winked.

I liked her already. And I wanted to know a lot about her and her past, and why she was here. Cho isn't like anyone I know. She's edgy, and cool, and a rebel, everything I'm not. I just knew Sato and Oki would love her.

"Come with me", I said, getting up from behind the table. Straightening out my skirt, I immediately felt like a nun with my long skirt and socks. "There's some people I want you to meet."

As we walked outside, a soft spring breeze ruffled my fringe. It's gotten warmer, I thought. Beckoning Cho to follow, I made my way toward a towering oak tree. There's always a large group of people hanging about under it's leafy branches, so myself and my friends sit a little further away.

Two girls sat in our usual place. Sato and Oki, my two best friends. Sato was small and sweet, a quiet, bespetacled girl with black hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders. She was chatting easily to the girl beside her, and flicking through music on an iPod. The girl next to her was Oki, a blonde girl with piercing blue eyes. She's really calm, and gives off the vibe that she's a hippy. It doesn't help that she plays guitar, and paints pavements and things.

They looked up as we approached, their welcoming smiles replaced with questioning looks at Cho and myself.

"Guys", I started, taking a deep breath. "This is Cho. Cho, these are Sato and Oki". Already, I knew what the girls were thinking. This girl was way different to us, perhaps too so. Maybe bringing her here was a mistake, I thought.

"Hey", Cho said brightly, a huge smile on her face. "Omigosh, where did you get your bracelet?" she exclaimed in Oki's direction.

If Oki was worried, she didn't show it. "I made it", she smiled softly, her eyes going all dreamy. Sato and I call that "going Oki-ish". "I'm glad you like it"

"I love it!" Cho squealed. Sato looked unimpressed. She hates girls who squeal, or intrude unexpectedly.

Cho turned to Sato, her head on one side, and a look of what can only be described as pure joy on her face.

"YOU", she cried suddenly, startling us all, including Oki, which is rare. I'm not sure Oki knows where she is half the time. "Are freaking ADORABLE!".

"Uh, thanks?" Sato asked, barely bothering to keep the question out of her voice. "Your hair is… unusual".

"Aw, thanks" Cho said, putting a hand to her hair. The conversation fell dead after that, and we all looked at eachother for something to say. The bell rang, and all around us, girls stood, chattering and laughing as they gathered their bags for their next classes.

"What's your next class?" I asked Cho, glad of something to say.

Cho, who had been looking like she wanted to explode throughout that silence, turned to me. "Latin", she smiled, rolling her eyes. "With Mrs Sampson".

"So do I" I said, getting up. "Follow me. See you later, girls", I waved to them, and led Cho into the crumbling house.


	2. Chapter 2

Much Ado About Everything

Chapter 2

After school that day, I knew a lot more about the black-clad, purple-haired girl that crashed into our library than I did this morning. I found out that she had a black belt in Ninjitsu. I now knew that she was a vegetarian, and loved vegetable ramen. I know that she loves Tom Cruise movies and adores chocolate.

But the most amazing thing was that she appeared to like me. For a lot of girls, I was a boring, nerdy, foreign girl with abnormal, weird friends. But although Cho attracted a lot of strange looks in our direction, and caused girls to turn and whisper, she didn't seem to care. And I felt more confident around her.

The only problem was Sato. After about a week, she was the only one who didn't seem to like her all that much. Oki liked her because Cho could sing, and adored her music. And even Tohru Honda, who didn't really hang out with us, had invited us all to a party. This wouldn't have happened before Cho had arrived. Oki was totally thrilled.

"Well of _course_ we have to go!" she trilled on the way home from school the following Wednesday. "I hear there's going to be _boys_ there! I haven't talked to a boy in the longest time". She was oddly alert for once, but then again, she usually was when a party, or when music or art were mentioned. But Sato had different ideas.

"You _do_ realize that the only reason we were invited", she said coldly. "Was because of that Cho? Come on, Oki! I love you, but I can't allow you to be all excited for nothing. You'll get hurt!". As much as I hate to admit it, Sato was right. She wasn't being mean on purpose, she just hates when people try to take advantage of Oki because she's a little dipsy.

Oki's face fell. She looked so down that Sato softened a little, and put her arm around Oki. I smiled. They're a strange pair-off, but they're so loyal that no one takes a second look.

"Aw, come on Oki", Sato said, squeezing Oki's shoulders softly. "It's not that bad! Look, we'll go to the party, okay? If it means that much to you-" she didn't get that much further, as Oki had thrown her arms around her neck, almost strangling her.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Oki squealed, jumping up and down on the spot, her shoulder bag flying out and hitting me in the stomach. "Sorry, Akahana. You'll come too, right?" She looked so earnest and needy that I nearly agreed.

"Oh, I don't know…", I moaned. 'Party's aren't really my thing, to be honest. Why do you wanna go so badly, anyway?" I realized that neither myself or Sato had ever seen Oki so worked up about going somewhere. Not even a concert where _she_ herself was playing. The question appeared to stump her, and she stopped bouncing, and looked away, blushing.

"Uh…" she stammered, picking up her satchel and walking on ahead of us. "I just, uh…. Met….. someone…. And he'll be at the party…" Now it was Sato's turn to look excited.

"No _way_!" she yelped, her glasses falling down her nose. She pushed them back up impatiently. "Who is he? Is it a Sohma boy? They'd be the only ones that would go to a party at Tohru's…" Sato has to rationalize everything. But I was stuck on another point she'd made.

"Who are the Sohma boys?" I queried. The girls turned to me with slack jaws. Considering I spend my free time in a library, or working in my mum's shop in the town, is it really such a wonder that I don't know these boys?

Oki composed herself before Sato, something unheard of in our little group.

"The _Sohma_ boys", she started. "Are Tohru's adoptive brothers. They have no parents, but the eldest kinda looks after them all. They go to the boy's secondary in the town, and none of them are related". She reeled this off as if it were sacred CIA-approved information. I had to laugh.

"And I'm guessing you like one of them?" that was enough to shut her up.

"Maybe", she replied quietly, causing Sato to scream excitedly. "Okay, okay, so what if I do? It's not like he's so much older! Not as old as Shigure anyway…." Sato stopped bouncing. This I could relate to. We never spoke of Oki's ex unless she brought him up herself. Shigure was a creep. A really cute creep. But a creep all the same.

"well who is it?" Sato yelled. This is killing her, I thought.

"It's…." Oki paused, suddenly shy. "It's Momiji Soh-" she was cut off by a man's voice calling her name. she blushed suddenly, and I didn't have to turn around to suss that Momiji was the one who had been calling her. I didn't turn until he was right next to us.

"Guten Tag, Oki-chan" he smiled. In the April sun, his blonde hair gleamed gold, and his eyes seemed bluer than ever. I could see why Oki liked him immediately. And what he said next proved he was a sweetheart. "I hear that you'll be going to Honda-san's party? That's cool"

"Yeah, I will" Oki smiled, and her voice, although it was her usual dreamy voice, it had a mature, smooth note to it. It suited her. She seemed older, more in control. And Momiji clearly liked her a lot.

"Well, maybe I'll see you there?" and with that, Momiji smiled at her, waved to Sato and I, and dashed off after a bus that had passed us seconds before. Oki looked totally thrilled, and blushed furiously when Momiji-chan winked at her from the moving bus's window.

After dropping a hyper Oki off at her house to get ready for the party the next day, Sato and I took our time walking home. We live on the same street, so we took our time wandering the sleepy country lanes of the village to our houses.

"So Sato", I grinned, nudging her with my elbow. "Which Sohma boy do you like?" I accompanied this question with a suggestive wink and a raise of my left eyebrow.

"Shigure" Sato replied, without so much as a second's hesitation. That's what I love about her. She just gets it over with, but she wouldn't sell out a friend's secret for anything. "I know it's wrong of me to like him after he was such a creep to Oki, but I can't help it. He's so cute!"

I had to laugh.

"Sato", I laughed, linking our arms together. "I know he's a cutie. In fact, I like him a lot, too. But he's off limits. He's….." I didn't have to go on. Besides, Sato is a sensible girl, and a smart one. She puts her friends first, and this time was no different.

"I know", she said, tossing her black hair from her eyes. "I wouldn't do anything about it. But it's fun to dream about, right?" By this time, we had reached our houses. I nodded.

"Of course it is!" I turned the key in the door. "I'll see you tomorrow" And with that, I walked inside my house, waving to Sato. What I didn't realize was that she had been staring after me, with tears in her big brown eyes.


End file.
